US court freezes Texas border law in win for Biden

STORY: A U.S. appeals court denied a bid by Texas to begin enforcing a contentious law that would let state authorities detain those suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

The law would make it a state crime to illegally enter or re-enter Texas from a foreign country and would empower state judges to order that violators leave the United States, with prison sentences up to 20 years for those who refuse to comply.

The Republican-backed law met immediate legal pushback from Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.

The White House says it oversteps the authority of the federal government to enforce immigration laws.

The measure, formally called S.B.4, has zigzagged through federal courts.

In February, a federal judge issued an injunction that blocked the law from taking effect. Then, last week, the Supreme Court ruled it could go into force. But hours later, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals restored the injunction.

And in a 2-1 ruling late on Tuesday, a 5th Circuit panel denied Texas's appeal.

The U.S. Justice Department and the office of Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Biden and Democrats in Congress have tried to find a bipartisan deal to improve border security and reform the asylum system, but Republicans have so far rejected the proposals.

A caravan of Central and South American migrants, many fleeing violence and poverty, set out earlier this week from southern Mexico hoping to reach the U.S.

Antonio Pena is from Honduras, and told Reuters he and others were seeking are looking for a legal alternative, but that many are opting to cross illegally. He said he was asking the U.S. to let them enter in a legal way.

This migrant mother and her three children are from Colombia. Now, they're sheltering along the bank of Rio Grande.

She said they've been there for almost three days. She said they have no water, and eat whatever they are given, and that the cold at night was intense. They shiver and huddle with each other, she said.

Immigration and security along the border with Mexico are hot topics for voters ahead of the Nov. 5 U.S. election in which the Democratic president is seeking a second term in office.

Donald Trump, the Republican candidate challenging Biden, has promised to resume and expand the restrictive immigration policies of his prior presidency.